Monday, 30 May 2016

A Children's Social Worker who went under cover for a Channel 4 'Dispatches programme was asked by Community Care magazine why she decided to take part in that programme as a whistle blower.(1) (2)

Social Work Tutor: Aside from what the producers wanted, what was your aim?‘Vicky’: I am sick (as many social workers are) of people like Nicky Morgan, who has no knowledge of social work, no experience of social work, being appointed as secretary of state and then saying [effectively] “I’m going to fix social workers”, “I’m going to fix social work” and then pointing at social workers. We all know that is a false discourse. It is unhelpful, inaccurate and laden in party political bullshit.SWT: How much do you think the issues you helped showcase are indicative of social work on a national level?‘Vicky’: The doc makers said they want to present a real picture of the difficulties in social work that social workers are having to deal with. I think to a varying degree they are shared across the country. Some local authorities are better resourced with different demographics that enable them to manage better but the story of social work is being starved of resources.

Does not the Children's Social Worker's analysis of Nicky Morgan's competence as Secretary of State for Children and Education sound very similar to the background of an investment banker as, firstly New Labour's 'welfare reform adviser' and then Conservative Welfare Reform Minister?

For in 2008 that 'welfare reform adviser' who is became Baron Freud, Conservative Welfare Reform Minister after defection and promotion to the unelected chamber, said of his appointment by Tony Blair:

"I didn't know anything about welfare at all when I started, but that may have been an advantage. I was genuinely shocked that the analysis was such a blob, nobody had come up with anything clear. In a funny way the solution was obvious [after a miraculous three weeks research and writing]."(3)

The then CEO of the Child Poverty Action Group Kate Green and others were far from favourably impressed with the investment banker's analysis of the situation and his solution. The BBC reported:

Kate Green, chief executive of the Child Poverty Action Group, said the most recent official figure for incapacity benefit fraud suggests it is below 0.5% [very different from the more than two thirds cited by Freud].

She said: ""Ministers will surely be alarmed that the man charged with major reform of the welfare system and family security rights gets basic facts wrong about benefits that he could find out in a second with a Google.

"His suitability must be under question for the task Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell has set him."(3)

Meanwhile, Hertfordshire Council's Head of Money Advice observed:

The government’s chief welfare to work adviser, David Freud, said recently: “I worked out that it is economically rational to spend up to £62,000 on getting the average person on incapacity benefit into work somebody will see a gap in the market and make their fortune.”....Using Freud’s calculation that the state could pay £62,000 for each of the two million plus people on incapacity benefit they put into work, it would amount to anything up to £120bn going from public funds and into the private sector in the space of three years.As incapacity benefit costs the country £12bn a year, and claimants who move into low-paid work may still qualify for working tax credit and housing and council tax benefit, Freud’s sums do not appear to add up. All of which is rather worrying for someone with a background in merchant banking. But it certainly explains why he believes private sector firms can make their fortune from this kind of contract.Social workers and advisers who are working with claimants going through the Pathways to Work programme need to be aware of the “payment by results” world that their client is entering. Employment is a valuable and viable target for many of the people we work with and of course, genuine help to move people nearer to finding work must be welcomed. But the work has to be suitable for the person and the person has to be suitable for work – in a contract-driven environment, those facts may get overlooked in the drive for results.(4)

Fundamentally, I would argue, the problem of these outsiders transferring into meddling with the lives of vulnerable people is that they lack the core values of the really helping professions.

Suffer the Little Children – a Dossier by Legal Action for Women documenting mothers’ struggle in the family courts in England, will be launched at the meeting.

Following the US-model, forced separations of mothers and children have increased massively in the UK in the past 20 years, especially against those of us on low incomes, of colour, immigrant, teenagers, with learning difficulties … Sexism, racism, domestic violence, usually suffered by the mother, poverty, homelessness … all influence decisions to remove children from their mothers. Everyone knows that mothers are children’s first line of protection and defence, but this is increasingly denied.

Early intervention by the state in the name of protecting children has led to cruel and traumatic separation rather than compassionate support. One third of children report being abused while in care. It has spawned an industry which feeds on the attack on parents’ capacity to raise their own children. As“emotional abuse and neglect” have become a more common basis for intervention than physical or sexual abuse, the discretionary powers of social workers have dangerously expanded. In Scotland, the new ‘Named Person’ legislation is being challenged in the Supreme Court as it raises concerns that the state is undermining families by taking parenting powers upon itself.

A child protection social worker warns us about the government’s latest plans:

The “undeserving poor” have lost their council homes; lost their benefits and lost their community services; why not make it easier to lose their children too?

But mothers, grandmothers and other carers in the US and UK are forming self-help groups and fighting back.

People inducted or not into a specialism such as their own benefits casework get sucked into the practice of talking in abbreviations that mean nothing to those outside. There is an actual publicly accessiblelist of Department for Work & Pensions Corporate Abbreviations available online that comes to 37 pages. That has not been updated since January 2011 however. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/29946/data-protection-guide-dwp-corporate.pdfI wonder how much the non-publicly available list has been expanded since the last published one was made available? Looking through the linked document, I notice that some items that caseworkers come across frequently are not listed, such as, "What is an ESA50?"Regarding what an ESA50 is, you could go to the Benefits & Work Publishing website and/or Benefits & Work Publishing for starters:

The comment about one-third of local average income being spent on rent is particularly germane to claimants. Prior to the benefits freeze and new allowances cap the local housing allowance, which determined housing benefit, was set at the 30th percentile of market rent. The suspension of these quantative outliers has created yet another arbitrary market. IIRC the dodgy old Austrian who first put it out there said: "Value is what you are prepared to pay". (Hayek).

Wednesday, 25 May 2016

(The final paragraph of this posting has been amended since first publication.)Privacy conscious Jsa benefit claimants frequently complain that their Jobcentre insists on them giving over their Universal Jobmatch (UJm) password.Here is a lead in to why it is not a good idea for the claimant to be so obliging on this matter.https://wwwrefuteddotorgdotuk.wordpress.com/2015/06/04/unfair/

Tuesday, 24 May 2016

Tuesday 7th June meeting against forced adoptions made more urgent

(Originally erroneously published as 'Monday 6th June meeting against forced adoptions made more urgent')

The Portcullis House meeting against forced adoptions in the UK and US(1) has been made more urgent by last week's Queen's Speech that sets out Conservative Government agenda for the UK Parliament. Community Care magazine reports: "The [Children and Social Work Bill] ... gives prospective adopters whom the child is placed with will be given the same rights as birth parents in care proceedings...."(2)

Compass is a home for those who want to build and be a part of a Good Society; one where equality, sustainability and democracy are not mere aspirations, but a living reality. We are founded on the belief that no single issue, organisation or political party can make a Good Society a reality by themselves so we have to work together to make it happen. Compass is a place where people come together to create the visions, alliances and actions to be the change we wish to see in the world....More at http://www.compassonline.org.uk/about/

Universal Basic Income – The Time is Now

Monday, 06 June 2016, 7pmCommittee Room 11, House of Commons

Compass are delighted to announce the launch of a huge piece of work on why we need a Universal Basic Income and how it could be introduced.

Come and join the authors Howard Reed and Stewart Lansley, with Ursula Huws and Labour MP Jonnie Reynold to discuss the growing demands for a UBI and how it could be introduced in the UK. At the launch event we will have free copies of the brilliant report Howard and Stewart have co-authored.

The event is on Monday 6th June, at 7pm, Committee Room 11 of the House of Commons – sign up here to secure your place, as we expect the event will fill up fast.

Monday, 23 May 2016

Yahoo reports: "The awards for this year’s Cannes Film Festival have been announced, with British director Ken Loach walking away with the Palme d’Or for his film ‘I, Daniel Blake’."More at https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/post/144771007651/ken-loachs-i-daniel-blake-wins-cannes-palme-dorDude Swheatie of Kwug wonders, if ownership of Yahoo were taken over by the newspaper group that brings us Daily Mail, Metro and Mail on Sunday newspapers, would they report this story at all?

Re: Peer review of serious customer complaint

[REDACTED]The review was done by accessing computer records/recordings of telephone conversations and by checking processes.The report sets out the findings of the review, key events, the handling of the case and lessons that can be learned.

Summary of findings

[REDACTED]

Additional facts and evidence

[REDACTED]I have proposed a number of recommendations based on the findings of the review. Recommendations are attached along with a more detailed timetable of events. Although the timetable is lengthy, its contents do outline the findings and recommendations of the review.

Recommendations

That the guidance for handling vulnerable customers is reviewed and that staff are reminded of the correct process [REDACTED]

That we empower staff to use some discretion in cases involving vulnerable people, instead of doing everything 'by the book'[REDACTED]

That staff on the ESA helpline are provided with refresher training to help them to better understand the claim process, [REDACTED]Equally, benefit processors need to update system notes promptly so that operators have the most up to date information available.That the process for sending documentation between Jobcentres and BDCs, particularly by fax, is reviewed. [REDACTED]

That the call back process is reviewed, particularly the need for customers to be with their representative at the call back when they were with them during the initial call.

[REDACTED]

Report on key events

This shows what happened at various stages of the customer's claim and is based on computer records/recordings of telephone conversations.

Commenting on Blog Contents

Comments are approved unless abusive, obscene, completely off the subject, disguised advertising or libellous. Publication of a comment does not imply that the blog administrator or KUWG agree with it.

Please note if I respond to comments it is in my Google log in — never 'Anonymous'

Commenters cause less confusion when they use their own names or pen names. A host of 'Anons' can give very mixed messages. Even if you use the technically easier 'Anonymous' button to make a comment you can still put your name at the end.

Benefits sanctioned? Take mass action!

An average of 1700 benefit clamants are sanctioned per year in each London parliamentary constituency. One of them might be writing parliamentary candidates in your polling constituency right now. How about more people who are sanctioned writing candidates in your parliamentary constituency and asking relevant questions at 'hustings' debates in your area?

Meeting structure

Helping you feel at home: We meet weekly in the Small Hall at KingsgateCC and start gathering from 3pm, attempting to start the meetings at about 3:15pm and definitely before 3:30pm.

Bring and share refreshments are included. We are not like the 'No eating or drinking on the premises' jobcentre.

The formal meetings start with firstname and what benefit we are on or a one-liner about what brings us to KUWG. (Pensioners and other allies welcome.)

We then ask for casework from those present, arrange who will help with what case, and go onto discussing campaigning leafleting and such outreach activities. We also arrange who will do the chairing or facilitating and note-taking for the following week. Rotating these roles helps minimise the risk of being dominated by one person and helps us build our skills as we share the workload.

Meetings actually finish at about 5:20pm to allow for putting tables and chairs back and leaving the kitchen facilities ready for the next group.